


Poacher's Pride

by lookoutforburningbuildings



Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Other, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 17:26:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15054167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookoutforburningbuildings/pseuds/lookoutforburningbuildings
Summary: Rapunzel wasn't sure about moving into a small cabin in the woods. But once she met two supernatural creatures in the forest, she became a bit more sure of herself.





	1. The New House

Rapunzel wasn't even sure where they were going, but wherever it was, they had to get there quick. That was made evident by how fast her parents had moved their stuff out and got a house far away.

 

To put it in the most simple terms, Rapunzel’s family was cursed. Rapunzel had this long blonde hair that would not be cut, and every time she sang something, it glowed and helped heal people of their wounds and injuries. She didn’t know it was even a curse (it felt like a blessing) until she found out somebody was chasing them to get to her hair.

 

She called herself ‘Mother Gothel’. Rapunzel didn’t like the implications of the word ‘mother’, but she figured it was just a title. Not that she intended on kidnapping Rapunzel and calling her her child just for the powers of her hair.

 

The drive there was silent, and the only noise was the ambience of the car quickly driving away and sometimes running over sticks and leaves.

 

She sighed, looking over to the terrarium that held her chameleon, Pascal. She gave it a sad look to him, making him give her a reassurance look that made her smile. She looked back ahead and saw that the car was slowing down. The car finally stopped at the end of a very long driveway, and she noticed the small cabin in front of them.

 

“We're here, Rapunzel.” Her father said, his voice completely monotone. It kind of freaked Rapunzel out. He never really spoke like that except when he was angry or disappointed, and she didn’t want him to be either right now.

 

“And...where is here?” She asked, looking the house up and down. It was in the middle of nowhere. She was very confused. This wasn’t what she had expected.

 

“Our new home, darling.” Her mother replied. Her tone was soft, but still more serious than usual. Rapunzel swallowed down her questions and went along with it, following as her parents opened the doors of the car and led her to the trunk, grabbing a few bags and walking inside. 

 

The house was...nice. It wasn’t the best, but it would do for living in for however long they would be here. Maybe they’d be here forever. She wasn’t sure. She set her bags down at the front door and went back to the car to grab the rest of her stuff, including Pascal and his tank.

 

“Get settled into your room, honey, it’s upstairs.” Her mother said, pointing to the staircase.

“Doesn’t that lead to the attic?” Rapunzel asked.

“It’s the biggest room in here aside from the living room.” Her father chimed in with. “We figured you’d enjoy it more than the room we’re sharing.” He explained.

 

Rapunzel nodded and grabbed her bags and walked up the stairs with them, bringing the terrarium up first. The attic didn’t have any tables in it aside from a nightstand by a bed, but she sighed and put the tank down close to the bed. She sighed, sitting on her bed and pulling her knees to her chest, looking down at Pascal. 

 

“Well, this is our new home I guess.” She muttered, looking out the small window about the bedframe, covering any light with the tree branches beyond. “What do you think, Pascal?” He made a noise of disgust. “Yeah, it’s not like our old home, but it’ll do...I guess.” She held out her arm, letting the chameleon climb up and onto her shoulder. “I mean, more adventures to be gone on, right?” Pascal nodded. “Exactly. Maybe this won’t be so bad.”

 

There was a knock on the trapdoor that went to the attic. “Rapunzel? Can I come in?”   
  
“Go ahead!” She called out. Her father popped up through the door and climbed in. “Hey.” She greeted, smiling slightly. He couldn’t mistake the hint of sadness in her smile and her voice.

 

“Settling in okay?” He asked, looking around the empty room. “How are you feeling?”

 

“I’m alright.” She shrugged. Her father gave her a look and she sighed. “Alright, I’m kind of scared. I’ve never lived in a place like this, and it’s kind of creepy. We’re in the middle of nowhere because we were being chased by someone out to get me. It freaks me out.”

 

“Rapunzel, this move was necessary. I’m sorry we had to leave home and your friends.” He said. “I’m sure we’re gonna be safe here, trust me.” Rapunzel rolled her green eyes, “Maybe you’ll have fun here. The forests are fun to play in.”

 

“Maybe so.” She said, looking back up to the window. Her father sighed and sat down next to her.

 

“I’m sure you’ll have fun here.” He assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Rapunzel hoped so. She didn’t want to live in a bad place, especially a boring one. Exploring was part of her nature. “I’ll tell you what, once the coast is clear, we’ll let you have a hike in the woods, okay?”

 

She smiled. “Alright, Dad.” Her father smiled and nodded, getting up and walking out of the room. Rapunzel looked down to Pascal and grinned. “We’re gonna have some fun soon enough, buddy. We’re gonna go for an adventure soon.” Pascal made an excited noise. “Let’s just hope they know we’re safe soon enough, otherwise we’re gonna be in here forever.” She rolled her eyes.

 

Rapunzel smiled and looked up to the window again. She stood up on the bed and stood on her toes so she could look out of it, needing to grab onto the frame so she could see through, The net made it a bit hard to see, and so did the trees, but when she looked down she could see the ground far below. She looked off into the distance and saw a flowing river bank and she grinned wider.

 

That would be her first destination. Wherever the river would take her. Now, that would be quite the adventure.


	2. Duo

Rapunzel was giddy. Today was the day, she knew it was! It had been so long since they had arrived here, she had to be able to leave now. She was smiling to herself and staring out the window when a knock came on the door to her attic. “Come in!” She exclaimed, hopping down and sitting on the edge of her bed.

Her father came in and smiled at her. “Someone's excited, huh?” He asked rhetorically. Rapunzel nodded anyways, tapping her feet together. “Well, you must know that today is the day you get to go outside for a bit!” He said, making her squeal in excitement. “Go on, have your fun with Pascal. Just be home before sundown, okay?” Rapunzel nodded, standing up and hugging her father before running down the staircase and through the front door.

It was pretty, the leaves falling to the ground and covering the grass with yellow and orange colors. She noticed how steep the hill was down her house and knew immediately she just had to roll down the hill, she just had to. And she did, making her laugh the second she hit the bottom. She looked up to the top of the hill and saw Pascal scurrying down the hill as well, making her laugh again.

She looked around, seeing the lake. She stood up quickly, almost jumping when she did, and held her arm out for Pascal to get onto her shoulder and she ran off to the lake, smiling to herself. Rapunzel looked into the water, seeing her freckled face in the reflection. She chuckled and hopped into the lake, her warm feet contrasting to the cool water, making her shiver a bit, but she was still laughing in happiness.

She walked down the river against the current for a bit, feeling the water and sometimes moss in between her toes as she walked across the slimy rocks. She heard Pascal squeak a few times but she ignored it and kept walking. Until she heard something rustling in the bushes. She looked over and saw nothing, so she dismissed it as such. She might regret that, but who cared? She was having fun right now!

Rapunzel kept walking through the lake until it spread into a large clearing, a large pond. She looked around and noticed the small waterfall up the hill in front of her. She could probably climb it, but right now, she wanted to rest in the pond for a bit. She pulled her pants up to her thighs, sitting down against the edge of the grass, letting her legs swing in the water.

It took a while, but she swore she heard another rustle in the bushes, and when she turned, she swore she saw it move. She slowly stood up, shaking her legs a bit to get the wetness off of them, but she ignored the coldness of the wind against them as she slowly approached the bush. “Hello?” She whispered. The bush rustled again. “What's there?” She asked.

Suddenly a large hand pushed through the leaves, making Rapunzel jump back. It was hairy and dark, its nails sharp on its long fingers. Another one of the same hands came out, then a face. It had a large underbite, letting sharp teeth protrude from under its lips. Its eyes were pure yellow, almost glowing against the black color of the rest of its eye. It's face was hairy, and the short black hair was ragged and messy. It fully dragged its body out of the bush and started crawling towards Rapunzel, who kept stepping away from it.

“Woah, who are you?” She asked, feeling her feet step into the water, stepping back until it went to her knees and the...thing was crouched at the edge of the pond. “Uh, who-who are you?” She repeated. It tilted its head to the side, examining her. It only growled in response. “Uh, do you...speak English?” She asked. It was a stupid question, but it was worth a shot, right?

Suddenly it started changing before her eyes. It closed its eyes and cracked its neck, the underbite slowly shifting and the pointed ears returning to human like ears, and the hair slowly started to shrink down, and when it's eyes opened, they were just yellow and white like normal eyes, and their skin started to pale a bit.

“Yes, I speak English.” They said in a rough and ragged voice. “Who are you?” They asked, their voice more making it sound like a statement rather than a question.

“Uhm, Rapunzel. Who are you?” She asked. This? Now this was weird. She wanted so badly to ask just what she was, but would that be rude? She could ask later, right now she wanted to know who they were, not what they were.

“Cassandra.” They replied. “You moved into the cabin up the hill, didn't you?” They asked, narrowing their eyes. “That was my house, along with my friends. Before you guys showed up.” She Started to move closer, stepping into the water as she stood up. “Got a good reason?”

“My-my family had to move away.” Rapunzel explained, stuttering a bit. “We didn't know anyone lived there, it said it was vacant!” She took another step back, the water rising to above her knees now. “I'm sorry, we didn't know.”

Cassandra furrowed her large eyebrows before smiling and chuckling. “You're good, kid. Rapunzel, was it? You seem nice. Nice frog, too.” She said. Rapunzel looked to her shoulder, noticing Pascal hiding in her braided hair. “So, what brings you guys here? Something happen, or just wanted to move to the woods?” She took a few steps back, crouching at the edge of the river bank.

Rapunzel smiled slightly, stepping forward to the point the water was up to her ankles only. “Uh, we had to run away from some bad people.” She explained. Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “Something about my hair being special to them.” She paused for a moment as Cassandra nodded. “So, uh, what exactly are you?”

“Werewolf.” Cassandra shrugged. “What are you?”

“Human, I think.” Rapunzel said. “You said you had a friend, didn't you?”

She scoffed. “Yeah, but he's a bit of a jerk. He's cool, though. Helps me on my hunts and I help him on his.” Rapunzel furrowed her brows in confusion. “He's a vampire.”

“Aren't vampires and werewolves, like, not supposed to be friends?” Rapunzel asked.

“Eh, that's folks tale right there.” She explained. “We're chill with each other, but we don't get along too often. We're not meant to be friends, genetically, but we do anyways sometimes.” Rapunzel nodded. “You wanna meet him? He's somewhere nearby. We were gathering supplies for our other friend.”

“Oh, sure thing!” She smiled. “You know, you're kind of pretty.” Cassandra chuckled and smiled at her, standing up, but hunching over slightly. She wasn't lying, Cassandra was very pretty, y'know, when she didn't look more like a wolf. “So, what's this friends name?”

“Either Flynn or Eugene.” Cassandra said, walking towards the bushes, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Rapunzel was following. She did, shaking her legs again when she was out of the water. “He prefers Flynn when he's getting supplies, though. Eugene is more for close friends.”

“Got it.” Rapunzel nodded. The two made it through the bushes and walked through the woods a bit, Rapunzel smiling as she saw all the nature around her. She spun around a few times as she walked, laughing to herself as she did. Cassandra gave her strange looks that she ignored.

“There you are!” A voice called. It was a lot more formal than Cassandra’s rough and gravelly tone, and was more eccentric. Rapunzel looked around and saw a formal looking guy step out of the bushes, holding his arms out. His outfit was, as previously said, very formal, and his hair was slicked to the side, his red eyes shining against the white of his eyes. This had to by Eugene, or Flynn, whichever. He glanced up and smiled at Rapunzel. “You found a friend, huh?”

“Can it, Flynn.” She growled. “This, this is Rapunzel.” She said, stepping aside and gesturing to her. Rapunzel smiled and waved. “And no. She is not a meal or anything. She's moved into the cabin we used to hang out in.”

“Oh, this is the pretty lady you were talking about!” Eugene smiled, showing off sharp canines. “You're right, she is very beautiful.” He complimented. Rapunzel chuckled and felt her face flush slightly. “Eugene, or Flynn, whichever you prefer.” He said, stepping forward and holding a hand out. Rapunzel gladly took it, letting the two shake hands.

She looked over to Cassandra, dropping his hand. “Well, we need to keep searching for ingredients for our friend’s alchemy.” She said. “Meet us up here tomorrow, maybe?” She asked, tilting her head at Rapunzel.

“Sure thing!” Rapunzel nodded. “You two seem nice, so why not.” She hoped they were nice, at least. She walked home that day with Pascal, grinning to herself. She met two interesting creatures. And they didn't hurt her! That was a first.


	3. Friends?

Rapunzel knew she shouldn't be doing this. Her parents would probably kill her if they knew she was going out and meeting these two creatures who are known to kill humans, and they would never let her outside again. But she wanted to meet these creatures again. They were nice and very interesting. She just had to.

 

She had finally made it to the pond again, and sat at the edge of it, letting her feet soak in the water. It was a very nice blue color, she had to admit, and it was a very pretty lake. Rapunzel sighed and let Pascal rest on her shoulder, looking into the water.

 

It took a long while before she heard bushes rustling again, and when she turned around she saw Cassandra crawling through the leaves. She smiled waved at her, which she acknowledged with a smile, crouching down next to Rapunzel. “Hey, Cassandra!” She greeted, excitement evident in her tone. 

 

“Hey there, Rapunzel. Glad you made it.” She said. “Have you just been sitting here by the pond?” Rapunzel nodded. “How long?” 

 

She shrugged. “I don't know, maybe ten minutes? Fifteen?” Rapunzel didn't know herself, but it was fine. She was excited to meet up with these two again. “So, just you or is Eugene gonna come too?”

 

“Did somebody say my name?” A voice came from behind them in a dramatic tone. Cassandra scoffed and turned to see Eugene standing there beside them, and Rapunzel saw too. He was wearing a different outfit, much more casual than before, but still pretty fancy. “Hello, Cass. Blondie.”

 

“Ah, nicknames already?” Cassandra asked, narrowing her eyes despite her smiling. “Well, you remember Blondie’s name, right?”

 

“Of course I do! It's Rapunzel.” He said, chuckling. “Did you think I would forget?”

 

“Yes, actually.” Cassandra shrugged. “Take a seat, buddy.” She said, pointing across Rapunzel to the open space beside her. Eugene sighed and sat down cross legged on the edge. He muttered something about not taking off his boots, and Cassandra rolled her eyes. “So, Rapunzel. You have pretty long hair, huh? What's up with that?”

 

“Well, uh…” Could she tell them? Would they believe her? Well, of course they would believe her, they were monsters themselves, a small curse couldn't be off putting for them. But would she trust them enough? Could she trust them? Maybe she should just tell them, get it out of the way. “I'm kind of cursed.” She explained, her statement sounding more like a question.

 

“Cursed? How so?” Eugene asked.

 

“Well, my hair is unbreakable. It can't be cut and it has healing powers.” She explained. “I wouldn't really say it's a curse, except for the fact some people are trying to kidnap me for it. That's why we had to move out here.”

 

“Jeez. That's tough.” Cassandra said. “But hey, it could be a lot worse, right?”

 

“Yeah, you could have two bloodthirsty creatures on both sides of you.” Eugene joked, trying to lighten the mood. Pascal hissed at him, making him pause for a moment. “I'm sorry, did he just...hiss at me?”

 

“He does that.” Rapunzel shrugged. “Pascal is nice, I promise, he's just protective over me.” She explained. Eugene nodded, looking down at Pascal. 

 

“He’s kind of cute.” Cassandra commented.

 

“Thank you.” Eugene said, grinning. Rapunzel took note of just how sharp his fangs were.

 

“Oh, not you, the frog!” She said, reaching over and lightly slapping him. Rapunzel laughed and pushed her arm away from her face, letting Cassandra pull her hand back.

 

“He’s a chameleon.” Rapunzel corrected. “You said you two hunt together, right? How did you two meet?” She asked, holding her arm out so Pascal could run up her arm and onto her hand.

 

Cassandra and Eugene gave each other a strange look before Eugene smiled. “We were both orphans and managed to find each other before the hunters did. Worked together to stay hidden and away from them. Luckily, the hunters haven't found us yet.”

 

“Yet.” Cassandra muttered. Eugene rolled his eyes. “I mean, come on, it's possible one of us could get attacked and be injured or worse, you never know out here.” 

 

“Stop being such a negative nancy.” Eugene said. “I mean, come on, it's not like Blondie here is gonna hurt us, right?” He asked, looking Rapunzel. His eyes suddenly darkened as he narrowed them. “Right?” He repeated in a much darker tone.

 

“Of course not!” Rapunzel said, feeling Pascal run into her braids to hide. “I would never hurt anyone, so I wouldn't hurt either of you! Plus, we're friends now, right?” She asked. Or were they friends? They were giving each other strange looks and now Rapunzel was afraid she had said something wrong. Then Eugene and Cassandra both smiled and looked back to her.

 

“Yeah...friends.” Cassandra said.

 

“Friends.” Eugene echoed.


End file.
